Spring and the color green are symbols - to me at least - of new beginnings, fresh starts. So, in the spirit of greenness and spring time - whether you are experiencing this luscious season or you are, like my niece in Australia, just getting ready for winter - take in a deep breath of fresh air and let's take a look at some ways you can begin anew to improve your health.

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In This Issue

• Spring Cleaning Revisited
• What to Expect from 'Once a Day Housekeeping'
• Reminders about classes, online classes/chats, teleconference calls, etc.
• A Few "Green Websites" for Fun

NOTE: To receive the best results I recommend only high quality resources. Look for herbs, supplements, and other resources mentioned in Tools for Health at My NSP Natural Health Coach and Natural Health Coach for Women.

Spring Cleaning Revisited

We've talked before in Tools for Health about cleansing. You already know that when the seasons change (spring and autumn) it is a good reminder to give our bodies a fresh start by doing some type of cleanse. Keeping the colon clean is important. However, it focuses on only one eliminative channel.

We are exposed to numerous toxic compounds in our every day lives. They range from the cleaners we use to furniture out-gassing, insecticides to antiperspirants, and on and on. In addition, we don’t eat right; therefore our bodies have a difficult time doing the normal functions of cleaning out such elements.

So how do we Detox?

Detoxing is a process that should be ongoing naturally. One thing we can do to encourage this is simply to make sure we are getting proper nutrition. (If severely nutrient depleted, I would start at this step and stay there as long as needed. With proper nutrition, the body will often begin to detox itself.)

It's also important to remove toxins as much as possible from our environments. Change your cleaners to castile soap or Sunshine Concentrate. I use the concentrate for pretty much all my housecleaning needs (windows, walls, floors, even laundry) except the dishwasher. We use castile bar soap (Bronners) and I usually have a gallon of the liquid on hand 'just in case.' For the dishwasher, I like Ecover's dishwasher powder or tablets.

In addition, we can look toward more organically grown foods, animal products grown with no hormones or antibiotics added. Lots of stores are carrying these options now. In our area, we have formed a cooperative that allows us to purchase this type of food at wholesale prices. If you are in the general mid to southeast area, check out

http://www.ozarkorganics.com

They may be able to point you to a cooperative of theirs in your area, or if you live elsewhere, they may know of resources for you.

Now that you understand about detoxing, and have been doing periodic cleansing (and if you haven’t, please see the archived issues of Tools for Health), try this recipe for what Steven Horne (www.treelite.com) calls a gentle "once-a-day-housekeeping" –

ThaiGo in juice with fiber (a fiber combination for everyone, but especially those sensitive colons or Psyllium Hulls) 2 caps All Cell Detox 2 caps Proactazyme

Take first thing in the morning. You can do this twice a day, AM & PM, but start with only once in the morning. Everybody’s Fiber is gentler than psyllium so if you have a sensitive colon, that would be the direction to go. Use what is best for you.

What to Expect from 'Once A Day Housekeeping'

Keeping in mind that every body is unique, these are some of the things that may happen:

1. You may pass what looks like a dark, rope like material. Pictures are often circulated with the caption that this material was coating the walls of the colon. Not so. In fact, if that much gunk was on the walls of the colon how would it be able to absorb what it's supposed to? It wouldn’t and you wouldn’t be around to argue about it.

   What is actually happening is the liver is dumping all of the toxins for the intestines – via lots of fiber – are passing them through the body.

2. After the body has had time to get rid of this material (could be a few weeks), the stool may return to a normal brown color.

3. If the lymph system has become very congested due to the colon not eliminating properly, you may also come to a point where you pass strings of mucus. Getting the colon back on track allows the lymph to be removed to the small intestine then the toxins can be cleared out. Keep in mine you are also flushing through the kidneys, so be drinking lost of water.

Reminders about classes, online classes/chats, teleconference calls, etc.

Natural Health Connections currently offers two online classes/chats at the following times:

Wednesdays, 3:00 PM Easter Standard Time
http://www.2wahms.com/88
Simply sign in; you don’t need a password, just your name.

Thursdays, 9:00 PM Eastern Standard Time
http://www.wahm-workshops.com/
For this one, scroll down and register. You will need your password.

Reminders are sent to those who live in the local area about classes here. If you’d like to be on that list, reply to this email and we’ll be happy to add you.

Did you listen to the March NSP teleconference call? Much of the material for this newsletter came from that call. I always learn something new, and highly recommend this resource.

http://www.mynsp.com/naturalhealthcoach

Click on 'Opportunity' then click on 'Events' for the upcoming schedule of calls and other happenings.

A Few "Green Websites" for Fun

According to Color-wheel-pro.com, Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety. Dark green is also commonly associated with money.

Green has great healing power. It is the most restful color for the human eye; it can improve vision. Green suggests stability and endurance. Sometimes green denotes lack of experience; for example, a 'greenhorn' is a novice. In heraldry, green indicates growth and hope. Green, as opposed to red, means safety; it is the color of free passage in road traffic.

See why I like the color green so much?

Here are a couple more places to learn not only about green, but about all colors.

http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/color2.htm

http://www.biopulse.org/color.html

Teri Hayes is a Certified Natural Health Consultant, Herb Specialist, and Certified Reflexologist

You can e-mail her by replying to this newsletter or visit her at Natural Health Coach for Women

The herbs and supplements she recommends to clients can be found using this link.

Comments? Ideas? Feedback? I’d love to hear from you! Reply to this newsletter and tell me what you think!

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The suggestions in this e-newsletter are meant to encourage personal responsibility for health and are not given as medical advice. For your individual health concerns such as chronic or acute warning symptoms, in emergency situations, or when in doubt, seek the advice of your primary personal health car practitioner.